information just in to the news4 newsroom. a 10-year-old boy in trouble for bringing a toy gun to school gets some good news today. what his mother is telling our reporter. plus, rain is moving into our area. storm team 4 tracking the system that could make for a very messy afternoon commute. good morning, everyone. and welcome to "news 4 midday." i'm barbara harrison. >> i'm keith russell. it's tuesday, february 26th, 2013. this just in, news4 has learned prosecutors in alexandria dropped the charges against a 10-year-old boy who brought a toy gun to school. the boy was arrested earlier this month when he brought that toy gun to douglas macarthur

elementary school in his backpack. he was facing charges of brandishing a weapon. boy's mother tells news4's northern virginia bury chief julie kerry, she's still angry with how the boy was treated. she'll continue to push the school system to reconsider policies for cases like this. the boy has since transferred to another school. today president obama will issue another warning about what sequestration cuts will do to our economy. he's traming to a shipyard in virginia to lay out the impact the looming cuts will have on the defense industry. here's a live look at joint base andrews, where the president will be arriving any minute. from there he'll hit newport news and speak at newport news shipbuildi shipbuilding. it's virginia's largest industry employer. the hampton roads region depends heavily on military and defense spending. meanwhile, virginia's governor says the president would be better off staying in washington. he says the president needs to stop campaigning and start working for a solution.

news4's megan mcgrath has more on that. >> reporter: virginia governor bob mcdonald making the rounds of media outlets this morning, urging lawmakers to reach a budget deal and spare the old dominion the pain of sequester cuts. >> 25,000 defense contractors. it's just really bad for virginia. but it's bad for the united states of america. every 'three to six months we have a crisis that brings us to the edge of financial collapse and mutual finger pointing and we can't get anywhere. >> reporter: virginia would be particularly hard hit by across-the-board cuts. heavy on defense industry jobs, the white house says some 90,000 industry workers are now facing possible furloughs. governor mcdonald says it just doesn't make sense for defense to take such a large hit, especially now. >> in a time of war to tap 50% of the cuts beyond defense is just -- is just bad policy. secretary panetta said we'd be devastated. virginia estimates are 200,000 lost jobs over the next ten years.

and so while they've got to cut, don't do it in such a random, haphazard way. >> reporter: later today, president barack obama will use a newport news shipbuilding yard to highlight the impact of the sequester on defense. governor mcdonald says the president would get more done if he had stayed in washington. >> the president's failed. he's running around doing press kmpbs. he ought to be talking to congressional republicans and democrats and leading and getting it done. >> reporter: while opposed to across-the-board cuts, governor mcdonald agrees with his republican colleagues that federal spending needs to be reined in. he seeds there needs to be a more systemic approach, one that begins with a hard look at entitlements. on capitol hill, megan mcgrath, news4. >> as we speak, homeland security secretary janet napolitano is giving her state of homeland security address. we'll have much more on what she's saying late they are hour. napolitano warned yesterday the sequestration cuts will undermine her department's ability to protect the country.

she says dhs will have to furlough thousands of border agents. she also claims it could take four hours or longer to clear customs at some airports. the federal government is already releasing several detained immigrants to save money. a spokesman for immigration and customs enforcement says the agency's field offices are reviewing the number of immigrants they have in custody to make sure they stay within their budgets. she says the agency will still pursue cases against these immigrants and will deport people when necessary. so, news4 is tracking every negotiation, every twist and turn of this sequestration showdown. we'll keep you up to speed as friday's deadline approaches. our web team is also working very hard to make sure you can find everything you need to know on nbcwashington.com. new today, crews rescued a horse stuck in a barn in calvert county. chopper 4 flew over the scene this morning. apparently the horse fell into a hole in a barn on aberdeen drive

in dunkirk. rescuers took more than an hour to pull that horse out. turning to the weather, the rain we hear will be moving into parts of our area, tom kierein joins us with our first forecast for midday today. good morning. >> good morning, barbara. the yes, the rain is just about to cross the potomac river out of virginia and head into the district within the hour. there's the wide view of storm team 4 radar. the area in pink, that's where they're getting sleet and icing, freezing rain mainly at the higher elevations, elevations above generally 1,000 feet. right now the leading edge of that rain, you can see those areas in the green not coming into fairfax county. a little light range in prince william, stafford, charles, into st. mary's, southern cal vert and farther west of there a little bit of rain in faulkier county, just now coming into southern loudoun county. a little light rain farther south, too, rappahannock county, culpepper and madison and green. in the blue ridge, the higher elevations, that little area of

pink, that's where they're getting that light freezing rain, initially a light glaze may be forming on untreated surfaces there. as we get into the afternoon, there could be a little more. and down in the valley, though, it's above freezing but up on those ridges where it's below freezing still. but closer to washington, in the upper 30s to near 40 degrees, upper 30s in montgomery, fair x fairfax, arlington, prince george's county near 40 in washington, and warming into the mid-40s this afternoon. how much rain will we get and when does it end? that coming up along with the seven-day outlook. >> we'll see now yao in a few minutes. for many across this area this morning it was a tough commute. metro riders had a serious test of patience in virginia over what some people called dangerous overcrowding on the orange line. now rider, they want to know why. news4's tony toll is live at the station. does it look any better as we speak? >> reporter: krooet keith, crews

are working on it as we speak. take a look. you can see crew members down along the track, westphals church metro station, welding in some connectors. more specifically, let me show you exactly what we're talking about here. if you take a look down at the track here, you'll see that these seed bond connectors right here -- >> so you can see what tony was saying as we lost his report on how workers at the westphals church station are trying to repair the tracks as we speak. it looks like -- they're trying to make the repairs. tony, if we have you back, you can resume. >> reporter: yeah, keith. as i was showing you, take a look. these are the bonds they are trying to fix right now. i want to show you a little bit of video of how they do it. it only takes about five or ten minutes. they connect the new c bonds onto the track, stick a powder in there, then weld them.

it's done in about five minutes. as you can imagine, all these c bonds along the track from westphals church to east falls church are broken so they're repairing them all. we did see a lot of delays. a lot of people took to twitter this morning, very unhappy, but they should say this should be fixed by about noon today so the rush hour tonight will not see -- >> well, glad we got tony's report back on track and we hope the same remains there. the frustrations extended this morning to the roadways. a the bread truck you see lost control of -- on the outbound suit land parkway this morning and hate tree. the driver was take on the hospital and is expected to be okay, but the crash caused lanes to be shut down on the parkway until about 7:30 this morning. police are still investigating. and in maryland, police are trying to figure out why a tractor-trailer overturned on the inner loop overnight. the truck flipped near the exit of route 450. it knocked down a sound barrier wall and actually landed in

someone's backyard on the other side. the people who live there tell one of our photographers they thought it was an earthquake. the driver did suffer life-threatening injuries. we are working to learn his current condition. new today, prince george's county schools go on lockdown. fortunately, it's just a drill. about an hour ago, every public school in the county shut its doors not allowing anyone or anything in or out of any public school for about an hour. it's part of a plan to practice safety in the wake of those deadly sandy hook shootings at sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut. meantime, growing enrollment has montgomery county schools asking for more money. the school board has asked the county council to approve a $2.23 billion budget for 2014, a 2.5% increase over this year's budget. joshua starr says most of that money allows them to serve about 2,300 more students expected to move into the county. it will also fund investments in math instruction and more middle

school staff. we have a reporter at the supreme court right now, the nation's highest court hearing arguments in a case to determine if and when police can take dna samples from a suspect. this stems from a case in maryland. prosecutors used dna to convict a man of rape. the state's high court overturned that conviction, saying police didn't have the authority to take a sample after he was arrested. the supreme court will likely rule in this case later this year. and right now, the army private accused of sending a mountain of classified documents to website wikileaks is back in court. four-day hearing is expected to focus on two issues. first, bradley manning's request for all charges to be dismissed. his attorney says manning has not received a speedy trial. prosecutors say the complexity of the case has led to the delays. and second, the court could consider manning's offer to plead guilty to 10 of the 22 counts against him. you can weigh in today on whether those signs along the roadways in fairfax county

should become history. the county is holding a public hearing on a proposal to remove signs from median strips and intersecs. it's illegal to put signs along many portions of roads owned by vdot. the agency, though, does not have the manpower to remove the signs itself. today's hearing begins at 4:00 this afternoon in the auditorium at the county government center. our time 11:11. coming up, new information released today on what life will be like for pope benedict once he steps down on thursday. plus, during john kerry's first overseas trip as secretary of state, why he says americans have the right to be stupid. stay with us.

new this morning, 19 people died in a hot air balloon crash in egypt. that's the word from egyptian leaders. the death toll has fluctuated, though, all morning. egyptian investigators say the balloon caught fire in the final stages of landing and crashed. the victims were from hong kong, japan, britain, france, and belgium. month americans were hurt. egyptian leaders grounded all hot air balloon operations. pope benedict xvi is making some final decisions before stepping down this week. he desided an internal report about leaked papal documents will remain secret.

he'll also be known as emeritus pope and will continue to wear white. tomorrow he holds his final general audience in st. peter's squa square. thursday morning he meets with all the cardinals and then takes a helicopter to the papal residence south of rome. he will greet the faithful from the balcony. it will be his final public act as pope. he will step down at 8:00 that night. the college of cardinals can begin their conclave to select the next pope as early as monday. right now john kerry is wrapping up his visit to germany. america's top diplomat met with german leaders earlier today including chancellor angela merkel and the foreign minister. he also spoke to a group of german students and raised some eye blows with his comments about tolerance and freedom of religion in america. >> in america, you have a right to be stupid if you want to be. and you have a right to be disconnected to somebody else if you want to be. and we tolerate it. we somehow make it through that.

now, i think that's a virtue. i think that's something worth fighting for. >> after germany, kerry will head to france as part of his tour through europe and the middle east. it's his first overseas trip as secretary of state. he'll visit nine countries in the next week and a half. in just about an hour, the bitter battle to confirm chuck hagel as defense secretary could come to an end. for the first time in history the senate filibustered his nomination, holding up his conversation for more than a week. but some of his most vocal opponents now say they will support the former republican senator. lawmakers will vote at noon. if they end the filibuster, a final vote to confirm hagel could immediately follow. >> mr. chairman, final tally is 19 ayes including proxies, and 5 nays. >> ayes have it. the nomination is recorded. >> and just like that, the senate finance committee gave the thumbs up for treasury secretary nominee jack lew.

the panel voted overwhelmingly to approve the nomination, sending the vote now no the senate floor. most recently, lew was president obama's chief of staff and would succeed timothy geithner if approved. baeren bernanke is in the middle of testifying to the senate banking committee. the federal reserve chairman talked about how the economy is slowly but surely improving. he also discussed the impending sequestration and said he feels the $85 billion in cults is too drastic of a move with the economy still so fragile. >> replacing the sharp front-loaded spending cuts required by the sequestration with polities that reduce the federal deficit more gradually in the near term but more substantially in the longer run. such an approach could lessen the near-term fiscal headwinds facing the recovery while more effectively addressing the longer-term imbalances in the federal budget. >> bernanke added that the federal reserve is working with the various intelligence agencies to help prevent future cyberattacks from hackers on

banking websites. the nba's most infamous bad boy is working on his international diplomacy career right now. dennis rodman is spending some time in north korea. you're looking at his arrival earlier today. he's traveling with three members of the harlem globetrotters basketball team and an hbo film crew. he thai eel be putting on a basketball training camp for children this week. it's all part of a new hbo series that will air in april. and we have a pair of globetrotters in our studio today. they will show off a few tricks later in our newscast. meanwhile, we also have you to show off a few tricks from all of your -- >> with your weather clicker. >> tell us what -- >> won't be a slam dunk, i can tell you that. >> bad weather heading our way. >> we do. we do. i wish we had meadowlark lemon here now. starring off this morning, we are getting those areas of rain just about to move right into washington. and last week i did talk about rain and snow and tornadoes and

severe thunderstorms. at this school in silver spring in montgomery county, the strathmore elementary school, talked to the fourth-graders there. and just to their left the fifth-graders filling that gym. i talked to almost 300 students there at the strathmore elementary school. media specialist debra koresh invited me to talk to the students at the strathmore elementary school. they're off bellfry road in silver spring. as we take a look at the wonderful poster for me, too, that happened to be the day of my 30th anniversary, made me a cool custom poster. i want to thank them for that. it was a lot of fun visiting there. there's the gray sky over washington now, 41 at reagan national, an east wind that's continuing to bring in the chilly weather, but it's all above freezing. precipitation getting closer to washington in the form of little bit of freezing rain here where you see the areas in pink right

along the blue ridge, freezing rain. generally it's above about 1,000 to 1,500 feet. elsewhere, lower elevations in rain now, the shenandoah valley. east of there just some light rain across northern virginia. it is just about to move into washington. and then late they are afternoon in into tonight, generally about an inch of rain. these areas in the green. we might have some flooding. there might be a few isolated spots up to 2 inches, but mostly around an inch of rain which may cause some flooding of some creeks and streams. farther west these areas in the other colors, that's where there could be icing. again, generally above 1,000 feet. freezing rain may cause maybe a tenth of an inch of ice to a quarter inch of ice on tree limbs and power lines and that unfortunately may cause some power outages. here's the timing. rain picking up in intensity by late afternoon. these areas in yellow. that's where there could be heavier rain coming in just to the east of the blue ridge into northern virginia by 6:30, 7:00. then between 8:00 and around 9:00 or so, some of the heavier

rains moving through. by midnight, most of it gone. and by dawn on wednesday we'll be p begin to dry out. get some sun back tomorrow afternoon. how much rain will we get? initial estimates generally about an inch around much of the region. maybe some lighter amounts south and east, about a half an inch there. again, maybe a quarter of an inch of icing out of the mouns at the very most way out in western maryland, highlands, west virginia. we'll stay in the mid-40s through this afternoon and some heavier rains around 6:00, 7:00 this evening until around 9:00 or 10:00. it will quickly taper off, sun back tomorrow with highs near 60 degrees. going to feel like spring. then chillier on thursday. maybe some sprinkles. then on friday, partly sunny, near 50. here's a look at the weekend turning colder, cloudy, maybe flurries on sunday. that's the way it looks. >> okay. all right. better get our rain gear ready for this afternoon. >> have an umbrella handy. >> thank you, tom. it's 21 minutes after 11:00. still ahead on "news 4 midday" -- the health benefits

of smiling. >> plus, joining us in the studio today, two members of the harlem globetrotters ready to put on a show in our area this weekend.

parents, trust me, you want to listen to this. doctors are releasing new guidelines for parents about ear infections. other than the common cold an ear infection is the leading reason why parents rush to the doctor's office. but for kids 6 months to 12 years old, pediatricians are now saying less is more. >> the goal is to improve diagnosis and to make sure that we preserve the healing power of antibiotics by using them

judiciously in kids who benefit most, and conversely giving kids who don't need them the opportunity to improve on their own. >> doctors recommend you only bring your child into the docker to's office if they have a fever above 102 degrees or ear aches more than three times a month. when you're stuck in horrible traffic today and you're already running late and you've spilled your coffee all over the place, we've got the perfect solution to calm you down. just smile. researchers say smiling actually has health benefits. kit slow down your heart and reduce your stress. scientists say forcing yourself to smile even when you're not happy can offer some stress-relieving benefits. you know, my father used to say the same thing. >> about spilling his coffee in his car? >> no, about smiling. he says -- and he had a ph.d. in health. smiling made a big difference. >> if you smile it encourages you to be happy and others to be

happier. >> yep. >> that's the secret of life. and barb, you always smile, and i like it. i like it. >> thank you. 1 1:27. in the next half hour, is america safer? just minutes ago janet napolitano delivered state of the homeland security address. our live desk working the story as we speak. and they will tell us about what she said about current threats. >> plus, a local teacher is fired up. why they say their jobs are too demanding. and storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein back with the latest on potential flooding today.

right now on news4 midday, president barack obama is on his way to newport news, virginia, to once again warn about the sequestration cuts. he left a few minutes ago from joint base andrews. he's traveling to a shipyard to highlight how the looming budget cuts will affect the defense industry. if congress does not come up with a compromise, the budget axe falls friday. today secretary of homeland security janet napolitano is talking about how those budget cuts will affect her department as it tries to respond and prevent threats to this country.

news4 is at the live news desk. >> good morning. secretary napolitano wrapped up her annual state of the homeland address days before sequestration could hit her department hard. that was her reaction, take a look, when asked about the massive budget cuts and how they would hurt her agency. the says thousands of border patrol agents could be furloughed and the hiring of port and tsa agents could be put on hold. not good news following a speech highlighting the need for expanding aviation programs to protect from outside threats. napolitano touched on immigration, as well, saying the broken system needs more tools to catch people hiring those here illegally. core missions of the agency include creating a national network to improve information sharing between federal, state, and local governments and increasing cybersecurity. >> we are moving aggressively to recruit, educate, and train our

cyber workforce for the future with the skills and talents we need to tackle this problem in the years ahead. >> now, a lot of her speech also pointed to the successes of the department, saying that it helped remove 250,000 criminals from the u.s. and legal immigration attempts now at 40-year lows. police are asking for your help finding a person of interest in a crime spree that includes the murders of an elderly cup until faulkier county. police want to question john jeffreys in connection with the murders of nelson and ethel slack. the couple was found dead in their home near the plains sunday. police also suspect jeffreys was involved in a home invasion in fredericksburg. the 67-year-old homeowner fought back, hitting the intruder over his head with an oxygen tank. jeffreys may have suffered injuries to his head in the process. meantime, it's back to the drawing board for prosecutors this morning after a double-murder trial gets thrown off the tracks.

a judge declared a mistrial in the jason scott trial yesterday. scott is accused of killing delores and her daughter, ebony dewitt, in largo in 2009. a detective on the witness stand referenced scott's involvement in several unrelated home invasions. the judge said that information could sway jurors so they were sent home. scott is already carrying out a 100-year sentence for other crimes. a new trial is slated to start this fall. d.c. police need your help finding the driver involved in a deadly hit-and-run. take a look at this surveillance video showing the car. the crash happened a week and a half ago in the 100 block of m street northeast. a 20-year-old maryland man was killed in that crash. surveillance video also captured a passenger from the car walking to a nearby metro station. if you recognize him, you're asked to call d.c. police. a retired atf agent gunned down as he walked his dog, but the suspected gunman didn't make it very far thanks to an officer

at the right place at the right time. prince william county police lieutenant carlos robles was off duty when he heard an agent had been shot and killed near his home. when he spotted suspect eric smith he tackled him right on the sidewalk. he spoke exclusively to news4. >> the fact that i was able to contribute and all the officers there were able to contribute and help with arresting this individual the same night that it occurred, it speaks volumes for our department. i'm just part of the team. i'm not a hero. if it wasn't me, you know, it was somebody else. >> police have recovered an ipod that they say smith stole during the shooting. smith now faces first-degree murder charges. people around the country will pause for a moment of silence a little more than a half hour from now to mark the 20th anniversary of the first attack on the world trade center. six people were killed and more than 1,000 others injured when a truck exploded below the north

tower. six islamic extremists were later convicted of that attack. the moment of silence will begin at 12:18. that's when the bomb went off. today also marks one year since a florida teenager was shot and killed bay neighborhood watch volunteer. and people across the nation are getting ready to pay their respects. the trayvon martin foundation will hold a million hoodie candlelight vigil in new york's union square tonight. a year ago today, george zimmerman shot and killed martin in sanford, florida. police did not initially arrest zimmerman because he claimed self-defense, but investigators later learned martin was unarmed. to the midwest, still dealing with severe winter weather today. blizzard conditions stretch from oklahoma to parts of northwestern texas. 17 inches of snow fell in amarillo, texas. whiteout conditions caused accidents and even some snowplows got stuck in all the mess. this storm is expected to push east toward illinois later this afternoon. and find out more about our weather, we check in with tom

kierein with the latest on the forecast outside on the storm team 4 weather deck. tom? >> that storm is affecting us now, bringing the clouds in, but we're on the warm side of it comparatively, and it's above freezing. just now since i've been standing here the last couple minutes just starting to get a few sprinkles in the northwest and in washington where the sky is gray, live view from the nbc 4 city cam, a few drops on the camera. there's the rain advancing across virginia and arriving right into washington, continuing to track off to the north, those areas in pink, getting a little bit of freezing rain, icing up along skyline drive and farther west. the elevations generally above 1,000 feet into west virginia getting some of that showing up like just a little bit of freezing rain, maybe -- perhaps a little bit of sleet mixing in with that. and temperatures though in the lower part of the valley are above freezing, and then all the areas east freezing. getting a little blustery out here, too. winds picking up later this afternoon into tonight.

could get quite gusty and that rain could get a little heavier, too, between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. or 9:00 p.m. is when we could have the heaviest rain. that could cause some flooding and tallas icing out of the mountains could pile up maybe a tenth to a quarter of an inch on tree limbs and power lines. all of the moisture out of here at midnight. tomorrow, some sun back near 60. sprinkles on thursday, sun back on friday, cloudy and colder for the weekend, maybe flurries on sunday. that's the way it looks, barbara. >> thank you, tom. >> new stats show teen driving deaths are on the rise. a report from the governor's highway association shows there were more young teen driving deaths in the first half of 2012 compared to the past. the report says deaths of 16- and 17-year-olds were up 19% over 2011. these numbers are a change from the past decade where teen driving deaths have gone down mostly, but with more restrictions on younger drivers. researchers say they do not know why deaths went up last year.

fairfax county school board is looking for answers this morning after some tough and heated questions from its teachers. >> let's teach! thank you very much. >> the educators vented frustrations about the demands of their job last night in falls church. they complained of being overworked, spending too much time grading papers and tests, and an overcomplicated curriculum. on top of that, they say their personal looichs are being impacted. >> i do the best job i can, and i'm tired, and i don't want to see my colleagues frustrated. >> we don't need to be told by someone who has not been in the classroom since they were kids themselves how to do our jobs. >> school board members asked the teachers to send them possible solutions. the board will address these concerns in a work session this april. the redskins could make a huge splash this off-season, and it has nothing to do with any of the draft picks or free agent signings. the redskins may be considering

legal action against the nfl over the salary cap penalty the league assessed against the team. according to the post, the skins might even try to delay the start of free agency until the issue is resolved. the nfl stripped washington of $36 million in salary cap space last year for its handling of contracts during the uncapped 2010 season. the time now 11:39. right here on "news 4 midday," still ahead, glasses with a built-in computer? plus, some of basketball's best are in our studio right now. two members of the globetrotters show off their skills. stay with us.

today internet service providers begin cracking down on illegal down loaders. the music and film industry teamed up with america's five largest internet companies were the copyright alert system.

those downloading illegally will get a warning and receive up to six warnings before companies take more drastic steps like slowing down their internet connection. imagine being able to learn information about something just by looking at it. it's something that's the very near future, we understand, from google. the tech giant is readying the new google glass and you can get your hands on it before it's even out. nbc's mara schiavocampo explains. >> reporter: google glass could change the way we see the world, a device that allows you to record your point of view. >> record a video. >> live stream it. take pictures. >> take a picture. >> get directions, information, or translations. and even dictate messages. all through a pane of glass projecting images right in front of your face.

this video released by google was shot using google glass and has racked up more than 13 million views in less than a week. technology reporter joshua is one of the lucky few who have actually tested glass. >> there's no glass that actually comes down over your face. it's just a little piece that goes over your right yigt aye and it projects into distance this little screen. >> google has been working on glass for about two years. their idea, to have people reengage with the world with their head up instead of looking down at their smartphones. since then, they've been testing glass with a small group of users. google co-founder sergey brin was spotted sporting a pair at an oscar afterparty and was seen wearing them on the new york city subway. in september, designer diane von furstenburg wore a pair throughout fashion week. >> amazing world. >> reporter: now google is looking for thousands of end-stage testers, asking hopefuls to tweet using th

the #ifihadglass. the response has been overwhelming. despite the interest, experts say google will still have to work out the kinks. >> some of the challenges will be price. another challenge will be ease of use. another challenge will be privacy. how comfortable will people feel using these devices and recording and sharing moments in real time. >> see you, dude. >> and that was mara schiavocampo reporting. turning to business news, fresh evidence that the housing recovery is accelerating. a check in with cnbc's bertha coombs with more on that and rest of the day's business headlines. bertha? >> good morning, barbara. we have stocks mixed, the dow higher this morning on strong housing data and strong earnings from home depot. alleges a big rebound in consumer confidence this month as american have shrugged off washington's fiscal gridlock. but ben bernanke is warning

congress those automatic sequester budget cuts due to begin this friday will have a negative impact on the economy. testifying on capitol hill this morning, bernanke also defended the fed's massive bond-buying program saying it's helping in areas like the housing market. indeed, new home sales in january rose at the fastest pace since 2008, up 15.6% according to the commerce department. home prices in december saw their best yearly gains since 2006, according to the latest s&p report. they're up 6.8% nationally. in the washington area, prices were up 5.8%. ap ll reportedly be offering rebates to parents whose kids inadvertently downloaded certain gaming apps that had other buying applications within them from itunes. the tech giant will pay $100 million to 23 million affected customers, those claiming more than $30 or more have a cash option. got to be careful when you give

the kids the phone and let them play those games. >> we know that. thank you. the harlem globetrotters have been entertaining audiences since the 1920s. the team making stops in our area this weekend. we have ariel mighty mitchell and her flight time joining us this morning with a look at what keeps you guys so popular. whichever one want stos start first. i grew up watching the harlem globetrotters. i would ask my dad to take me to the games. i was amazed at the ball tricks. why does popularity still remain? >> 87 years we've been around, been to 120 different countries and territories, entertained over 135 million fans. i think it's the fact that the guys that started it originated this did such a great job. everybody has a globetrotters story. the people coming now want to share those memories they had when they were younger. we're responsible now for providing that and that's what we do and what keeps the globetrotters around and fresh. >> one of my dad's favorite stories was the fact that wilt chamberlain, one of the greatest

players in nba history, was globetrotter. people think of it as just show time and showmanship. but you guys played major college basketball. everybody has a career in basketball. it's not just people clowning around on the court. now, ariel, you are one of three women this year. >> yes. >> 11 in the history. >> correct. >> how have you found that experience to be? >> it's extremely amazing. to be a globetrotter first, like we just said, you have to be a basketball player. second, you have to be a great entertainer and third a great person. to know i have all three of those qualities i'm extremely proud to be here. >> now, i know you guys play some serious games when you're not putting on a show. i know you guys play against each other. i know you have some practices. do the guys talk smack to you, ariel? >> i'm treated pretty equally on the team, so i'm out there, you know, playing hard, just as hard as the guys so it's equal opportunity out there. >> let me reverse that. do you talk smack to them? >> sometimes. >> sometimes you have to, you know. sometimes you have to tell them,

you play like a girl. >> yeah. that's what you tell them? >> when i get a shot. >> flight time, that means you had a high vertical leap and ariel, you were telling me your name mighty means you have a mighty sweet jump shot. >> yeah. >> with that said, let's see what you guys have. let's see some of the things you can do right now on the spot. >> here you go, ariel. mighty. >> just what you get to see this weekend, march 2nd, 1:00 p.m., verizon, 7:30 patriots center. next day again, march 3rd, at the patriots center. tickets available at verizon, patriots center. look at that. >> one hand behind the back. i like it. >> you want to try it? >> no. i'm not good with balancing. >> hold one up. i got you. >> okay. let me see. man. >> look at that. >> that's the longest i've ever held that. you guys are amazing to watch.

do you find that most of the audience are children? do you find it to be a younger audience or a mix? >> it's definitely a mix monopoly. >> mix. >> the thing about this year's tour is we're doing something totally different. >> what's that? >> you write the rules. the fans get to go online, on our website, harlemglobetrotters.com and five different rules they get to vote on. they get to pick the rules for each quarter. one rule is 6 on 5, penalty box, four-point shot. >> penalty box. >> anybody who's acting up. we have the four-point shot. we have double the points as well. it's very interactive and the fans -- and the fourth quarter live they get to vote on what they want the fourth quarter rule to be. >> here's my one rule. >> what's your rule? >> i told ariel in green room, i said, listen, i haven't played ball in a while so i'm going to get in my basic defensive stance. flight time, give her the ball. i want to see what we're working with here. this is my basic defensive stance. >> if that's your basic defensive stance i would easily just -- whooo!

and then score a basket. >> and it's over. >> yeah. >> that's why i didn't play basketball. that's why i wasn't competitive like you guys are. definitely not show people like you guys are. >> you probably are wondering why i'm holding a pink ball? >> i am. >> this year on the 2013 you write the rules tour, we'll be praying plart of the game supporting breast cancer, we're a part of the susan g. komen foundation. i have that in my family so i'm proud to be part of the cause. >> you go, girl. thank you for coming on. flight time, thank you. >> thanks for checking us out. >> you guys are appearing at the verizon center march 2nd also at the patriots center again march 2nd that night and again at the patriots center sunday that afternoon. >> march 3rd. >> all right. i'm coming out. >> we'll look for you. >> put all you on-in the penalty box. >> bring your six man stuff.

>> 11:52 on "news 4 midday." coming up, new evidence this mediterranean diet works. plus storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein back with when we could see the heaviest rain today.

a mediterranean diet can improve your health immensely. those who did were 37% less likely to have a heart attract, stroke, or die from heart disease. a handful of nuts or four table soons of olive a day in addition to three servings of fruit, two servings of vegetables a day and fish and legumes three times a weak. eating white over red meat, drinking wine with your meals. dr. nancy snyderman says even including a few of these in your diet can improve your health. >> anytime you take a little bit of this kind of diet and the stuff we have in front of us, which is basically fresh fruits and vegetables, fish and

chicken, and of course beans and of course you and i love our red wine, you're ahead of the game. interestingly, what you're not seeing is red meat, and if you do like meat or fish or chicken, remember, the serving size is the palm of your hand. >> researchers studied more than 7,000 people over a five year span. they stopped the study early because of the dramatic health improvement of all those participating. let's look at some of the stories we're following on news4 this afternoon. pat lawson muse in the newsroom with a preview. hey, pat. >> good morning, keith. coming up today on news4 at 4:00. is it child abuse? police investigate a 9-year-old boy's parents because of the child's risque rap videos. plus, do you know what your children are doing online? the new program that helps you monitor your children's social media accounts. lit even alert you to the kind of pictures your kids are posting and which of their friends might seem suspicious. and coming up on nutz 4 at 5:00 today, metro drivers are going

back to school. an inside look on how drivers are getting new training, especially when it comes to very serious confrontations. an important story. we'll have all the day's latest news coming up on news4 starting at 4:00 today. barbara, keith? >> all right, pat. >> thank you, pat. time for a final check on your forecast. >> storm team 4 radar showing the rain moving into the metro area all across the area, higher elevations along the blue ridge, shenandoah valley a little freezing rain. might have a little flooding later tonight. watch out for that. we'll be back tomorrow morning. have a good afternoon. >> thank you, tom. you may remember last week we showed you a cheerleader that made an incredible basketball shot after flipping, picking up the ball, laying on the floor, and making the shot from half court. the "today" show put her to the test again. >> oh! >> so close! >> ashley tried several times

but wasn't able to pull off the same feat that made her a video viral star spp she did come close, hitting the backboard with one shot. the william carey university junior tried hundreds of times before making this now famous shot during the final home game of her school season. she said she came up with the idea after watching a soccer player doing a front flip and throwing the soccer ball into the soccer net. >> once in a lifetime. >> once in a lifetime. good enough. that's news for midday. thanks for joining us. tune in at 4:00, 5:00, and 6:00 later today. >> we'll be back tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. for "news 4 midday." have a terrific day.